Introduction
In a developing country like India, the problem of waste management is acute. In developed countries, this problem is not as grave since their economies are more productive and prosperous than those of developing countries. Furthermore, developing countries lack adequate waste disposal and management systems. According to What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050, research published by the World Bank, the world would generate 3.40 billion tons of waste annually by 2050 if no immediate action is taken.
According to World Bank figures, India was the world’s largest waste producer in 2020, owing largely to its population. However, India is expected to produce significantly more waste by 2050. Solid waste management has become a major concern in Indian cities. Municipal authorities in India are responsible for handling municipal solid waste, but they are often unable to do so efficiently due to a lack of in-house ability to manage the complexities of the operation.
This article illustrates the problems with the current waste management system in Chandigarh, the first-ever planned and a top tier II city, and proposes appropriate steps for its improvement.
Major Flaws With The Waste Management System Of Chandigarh
Chandigarh produced 479 MT of waste per day in 2020, of which only 120 MT was recycled or processed. According to Rishi Rana, Rajiv Ganguly, and Ashok Gupta’s research paper on the assessment of Chandigarh’s Solid Waste Management System, released in 2015, the following problems persist with Chandigarh’s waste management system:
(a) Littering by residents after collection: Although cleaning and waste disposal are undertaken daily, people litter. They litter the waste in the open rather than disposing of it in the garbage bins given to them. Households, especially in slums, as well as local shopkeepers, often dump trash into sidewalks, highways, and any available open space, resulting in unnecessary littering and clogging of drains.
(b) Poor Conditions of Collection Containers and Areas around them: In most collection points in various sectors in Chandigarh, the state of the garbage containers used during primary collection and storage is unsanitary. At these locations, foul odor, mosquitoes, and other disease-carrying vectors are all too common.
(c ) The distribution of Labour and Resources: Based on population, sanitation workers are allocated to various sectors. In the city of Chandigarh, there are fifty-six sectors, each with around 10–15 sweepers. Handcart run by a two-person team is given to extract waste from these sectors. However, the productivity of these sweepers is low, and waste is not properly segregated.
(d) Poor Working Conditions: Sanitation staff and sweeping crews gather and transport garbage in unsanitary environments. Most of them are affected by parasitic diseases such as jaundice, diarrhea, and trachoma, among others.
(e) Inadequate Maintenance and Replacement of worn-out collection vehicles: Most vehicles used to transfer waste in Chandigarh are old. This raises operating and maintenance costs decrease transfer quality, and, as a result, pollutes the air and noise.
(f) Inadequate Source Separation: Source separation is also a big flaw in Chandigarh’s waste collection and management scheme. Source separation is the separation of various forms of solid waste at the point of generation (a household or a business or a shop). People in Chandigarh do not practice meaningful segregation. This leads to inefficient garbage collection and recycling, as well as a waste of time.
(g) Ineffective Collection and Transfer System: The solid waste collection and transfer methods in Chandigarh are haphazard, with no organized approach. As a result, the solid waste disposal system effectiveness is greatly diminished. Drivers choose the roads, and each vehicle gathers solid waste along its path before the vehicle exceeds its full capacity. After that, the vehicles dump the waste. These wastes are gathered in Sahaj Safai Kendras (secondary dumps for garbage after it is collected from villages, residential, commercial, and industrial areas).
After the emptying of these vehicles, they return to their path and resume selection. Since the roads are not well-designed to minimize traffic, these vehicles are forced to drive long distances or waste more time traveling the same road, resulting in higher fuel demand and higher maintenance costs.
(h) The Disposal Method: The current waste disposal system in Chandigarh is unsanitary and unregulated, and it entails dumping waste into a landfill. There are no lining mechanisms in place to prevent leachate from the waste from leaking out and contaminating the soil and groundwater. Also, there is no proper security at the landfill site, allowing unauthorized entry of rag pickers and stray animals, worsening the situation.
The created leachate is not collected properly or timely, and it is not treated properly before being discharged into any water sources, posing a significant health risk from toxic metals. The original research paper can be accessed by clicking on the following link: ((PDF) An Assessment of Solid Waste Management System in Chandigarh City, India (researchgate.net))
Mitigation Attempts
The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, which is in charge of ensuring sanitary conditions in the city, has worked hard to develop more efficient garbage management systems. The MC created solid waste management bylaws 2018 in 2018 and a December 2019 resolution in 2019 to improve waste management. According to these bylaws, the MC was to take over the garbage collection in Chandigarh.
However, in April 2021, the enforcement of these bylaws was suspended midway by the High court because it was argued in court that the bylaws and resolution ran contrary to the letter and spirit of the Ministry of Environment, Soil, and Climate Change’s Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, which contemplated the need to empower the garbage collectors and help ensure their employment.
At present, garbage collection is conducted in the same haphazard way. Although the Municipal Corporation has initiated more segregation schemes none of them have been successful. Furthermore, even when the MC’s new waste management scheme was in place (before April 2021), it had shortcomings, one of the most serious of which stemmed from the disagreements between the independent waste collectors and the civic body.
With the two sides at odds, independent waste collectors continued to pick up waste from the same area as the MC’s trucks, causing widespread confusion amongst the people.
Garbage disposal is also inefficient. In Chandigarh, just 19 percent of waste is processed. The rest is being dumped at Dadumajra’s landfill. By 2036, the MC expects to construct three more sanitary landfill sites at the Dadumajra dumping ground. Just 80 metric tonnes of the 425 metric tonnes produced daily by Chandigarh are currently processed, with the rest dumped. The Sehaj Safai Kendras (SSKs) in Chandigarh will be by three Material Recovery Facilities, according to the MC (MRFs).
This system is non-operational right now. Construction of two MRFs has already started, and the third is nearing completion of the tendering phase. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the completion of these facilities could be postponed.
Given that Chandigarh’s garbage management is still inefficient and unsustainable, some novel solutions are required.
Innovative Solutions And Strategies For Garbage Management In Chandigarh
Successful waste treatment and disposal necessitate not only novel solutions but also effective governance on behalf of the municipal corporation and the UT administration. The following are some revolutionary strategies and proposals that the MC and UT administration may consider following:
(a) The Indore Model
According to Swachh Survekshan 2020, Indore is India’s cleanest city for the fourth time in a row. The Municipal Corporation of Indore has pioneered the waste management method. The model achieved 100% waste segregation at the household level by social engineering. Daily inspection visits by officials and the municipal commissioner, meticulous planning for each proposal, and extensive stakeholder consultation have all contributed to the project’s progress. This helped Indore become a “Bin-Free City.”
Indore can now handle and process its entire daily waste of approximately 1,200 metric tons on the same day. The spot fines and disciplinary system for indiscriminate waste disposal were also revamped and strictly enforced. Indore reduced human interference in waste management to a bare minimum and automated garbage segregation by machines.
In just six months, the city could remove approximately 130,00 MT tons of waste dumped at the dumping site of the city. Vehicle architecture was altered to handle more waste per vehicle while maintaining RTO weight limits. This whole process of revolutionizing garbage management and disposal system costs less than Rs10Cr.
An effective waste management system strengthens the region’s resistance to pollution. Even during disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic, when many other cities were battling to deal with hazardous waste and with the Central Pollution Control Board issuing new guidelines, people in Indore are already segregating and disposing of hazardous waste. The technicalities of Indore’s waste management scheme can be viewed in detail by following this link.
(b) The Sweden Model
Sweden is a global leader in the field of waste management. Less than 1% of all waste generated in the country is disposed of in landfills. The following are the main factors that contributed to Sweden’s effective waste management system:
(i) Effective recycling: Recycling is an important aspect of the Swedish waste management system. Residents sort recyclable materials and food scraps from other waste in their homes. As another method for encouraging recycling, the Swedish government enacted legislation requiring recycling centers to be located within 1,000 feet of residential areas. Conveniently situated facilities allow people to dispose of their waste properly. Citizens are encouraged to reuse or repurpose products rather than recycle or dispose them of. As opposed to recycling or waste disposal, repurposing and reusing items uses less energy. As Swedes consume more repurposed goods; they reduce their consumption of new products made from raw materials. As a result, the nation conserves more of its capital and efficiently manages its waste.
(ii) Waste to Energy: More than half of Sweden’s waste is burning in waste-to-energy plants. During the long winter months, the energy provided by these facilities heats homes throughout the country. Another advantage of waste-to-energy plants is that the ash and other by-products of the burning process can be used to make road-building materials. Although the waste-to-energy initiative of Sweden has been seen to be slightly damaging to the atmosphere, if such a pilot project is conducted in a regulated manner in a city like Chandigarh, the city’s waste management system can be greatly enhanced.
(c ) Citizen Charter for Waste Management
Waste management should be everyone’s duty and obligation. People ought to be more mindful of this. The ecosystem would suffer as a result of pollution created by insufficient and ineffective waste management activities if citizens do not recycle properly or use disposal practices. People cannot nowadays see the future from a long-term perspective. To make good recycling a habit for people, the UT government or the MC can implement the following measures:
(i) Social involvement of families and people in the waste management cycle can be increased through public media systems. As seen with Indore, representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) visited households and informed them about their position and significance in the waste management system. This increased public consciousness regarding waste management.
(ii) To increase public interest in waste management, the municipal corporation of Chandigarh should provide citizens with smart solutions that can simplify the various steps that citizens can take.
(iii) Another step that should be taken to improve the system of waste management is to increase the ability of residents to follow the 3R’s of the waste management system (reduce, reuse, recycle).
Concluding Remarks
Solid waste management is a serious issue that requires commitment. Rapid population growth, urbanization, and industrial change generate growing amounts of waste, putting conventional waste-management systems under pressure. Unsound waste management has a societal component besides significant fiscal and health consequences. Deficits in waste disposal, like most environmental risks, disproportionately impact vulnerable populations because waste is often dumped on land next to slums.
The advantages of effective waste disposal are enormous, both for the environment and for the industry. According to a 2010 UNEP survey, recycling one tonne of paper or aluminum in Northern Europe saves more than 600kg and 10,000kg of CO2 equivalent, respectively. So, instead of seeing waste as a challenge, we should see it as an opportunity and recycle and turn waste into a resource, a common paradigm change that is gaining popularity.
Even in countries with proper waste management systems, simply collecting and disposing of waste out of sight has failed as a solution. In waste management, there is no such thing as ‘throwing away’. Indeed, if done properly, waste management has a huge potential to turn problems into solutions and to lead the way towards sustainable development through the recovery and reuse of valuable resources. We all must become more aware of this issue to make Chandigarh greener and smarter.
Yashmit Segal
Class XI, DPS Chandigarh
Feature image is for representational purposes only.